Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device.
Discussion of the Background
Display devices are devices that visually display data. Examples of display devices include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), electrophoretic displays, organic light-emitting displays (OLEDs), inorganic electroluminescent (EL) displays, field emission displays, surface-conduction electron-emitter displays, plasma displays, and cathode ray displays.
Of the display devices, LCDs are one of the most widely used types of display devices. Generally, an LCD includes a pair of panels having electric field generating electrodes, such as pixel electrodes and a common electrode, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the panels. In an LCD, voltages are applied to electric field generating electrodes to generate an electric field. Accordingly, the alignment of liquid crystal molecules of a liquid crystal layer is determined, and polarization of incident light is controlled. As a result, a desired image is displayed on the LCD panel.
In a vertical alignment (VA) mode LCD, liquid crystal molecules are arranged with the main direction of the molecules being perpendicular to the upper and lower display panels when no electric field is applied to the liquid crystal molecules. VA mode LCDs are popular due to their high contrast ratios and wide standard viewing angles. However, a drawback of the VA mode LCD is that it may have poor lateral visibility when compared to frontal visibility. To overcome this drawback, each pixel may be partitioned into two subpixels, and a switching device may be formed in each subpixel. Then, a different voltage may be applied to each subpixel.
In such a conventional LCD, however, a subpixel electrode, to which a relatively high voltage is applied, may be coupled to a pair of data lines located on both sides of the subpixel electrode, thus causing vertical crosstalk. When this configuration is used, display quality of the LCD may be degraded. Thus, it becomes advantageous to reduce the coupling of the subpixel electrode to which the relatively high data voltage is applied and the pair of data lines located on both sides of the subpixel electrode.
To reduce coupling, a gap between the subpixel electrode and the pair of data lines may be increased. As a result, vertical crosstalk can be prevented to some degree.
However, an increase in the gap between the subpixel electrode to which the relatively high data voltage is applied and the pair of data lines located on both sides of the subpixel electrode detrimentally reduces an aperture ratio of the display device.